


Juncture

by ullman



Category: NSYNC
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-02-24
Updated: 2010-02-24
Packaged: 2017-10-07 12:49:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,166
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/65306
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ullman/pseuds/ullman
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Written for Pen (for make the yuletide gay 2009).</p><p>With a huge thank you to Caroline Crane for the beta!</p>
    </blockquote>





	Juncture

**Author's Note:**

> Written for Pen (for make the yuletide gay 2009).
> 
> With a huge thank you to Caroline Crane for the beta!

"You know, Justin just said congratulations," Joey says when Lance seems at an uncharacteristic loss for words following Joey's very excited announcement that Kelly is expecting their second child.

 

Lance blinks at that, and barely manages to keep from saying the first thing that comes to mind in response to Joey's comment regarding Justin simply congratulating them. After all, he did promise certain people he'd try to rein in his inner bitch. Instead, he remains silent for a moment before he carefully says, "I guess my bar's probably set a little higher than that."

 

On the other end of the line, Joey grins knowingly. "I'm pretty sure that isn't much less of an insult than whatever it is you didn't say."

 

"I like to think it says more about me than anyone else," Lance tries, fighting a smile of his own.

 

"It probably does, yeah," Joey concedes generously.

 

Another moment of silence follows, and Lance rubs the back of his head, unable to pinpoint just what it is that he's looking for. He shakes his head, and finally settles on a somewhat lame, "A simple congratulations just doesn't seem to cover it, that's all."

 

Joey hums his agreement. "I guess not, but still – it'd be a nice start, man," he tells Lance, his voice laced with barely contained laughter.

 

 

***

 

 

"- and I even forgot to congratulate him," Lance admits with a deep sigh, leaning back against the kitchen counter.

 

"I'm sure he didn't mind. I mean, it's not every day that you hear you're going to be a godfather again." Chris hands Lance a glass of wine, adding, "Any sane guy would need a moment to process something like that. Besides, we're talking about Joey here - "

 

"Still, I think there's some kind of rule about the godfather needing less time than the actual father," Lance points out, looking a little distracted.

 

Chris shrugs, grabbing a beer for himself as he wonders where the apparent funk Lance seems to be in is coming from. Because the one thing he can come up with, definitely isn't it. If only because this, well, this is Lance.

 

But when Chris hops onto the counter next to Lance and reaches out, mussing the other man's hair and Lance doesn't even bat at his hand or pull away, his brow furrows. "So," he then tries, "_Kids_ \- "

 

Lance gives him a sideways glance, his eyes widening comically. "You want to have _that_ conversation?" he asks incredulously.

 

Even though he gets the distinct feeling that his first instinct was right and this very much isn't whatever is bothering Lance, he still doesn't want to scare him off. And so Chris decides to do what he does so well, and plays it cool like only he can. "Oh, please, God, _no_."

 

Lance smiles.

 

 

***

 

 

Joey interrupts his pitch perfect rendition of the first few lines of Cliff Richard's _Congratulations_ – and Chris mentally awards himself points for either sheer musical eclecticism or maybe just simple randomism - with an almost exasperated sounding, "At least C wrote us a special song celebrating the actual occasion. You know, instead of covering what should totally not be uncovered ever again."

 

Chris laughs, covering the receiver with his hand. "You know, JC wrote them a song," he tells Lance.

 

Lance looks up from his book, then rolls his eyes. "Let's just say my bar's not set quite _that_ high."

 

"Oh, I'm very well aware of that, believe me. Case in point," Chris says, gesturing towards himself with a smirk before turning his attention to his caller again, not giving Lance a chance to respond. Ever since Joey called the day before, Lance has been a little subdued and while Chris managed to get several more smiles since the first one, he'd yet to cheer Lance up indefinitely. He knows he will once he finds out what's going on: that tends to help. Until then he'll settle for smiles.

 

"Lance has lowered his standards," he gleefully informs Joey, catching Lance's smile out of the corner of his eye.

 

Joey grins. "That does explain a thing or two," he says in a teasing tone of voice.

 

"Doesn't it?" Chris asks blithely. "Anyway, I've been thinking – "

 

 

***

 

 

"- so I'm guessing that means he's probably not going to give it due consideration," Chris finishes, pulling his shirt off over his head.

 

"Damn," Lance murmurs, his voice muffled by a mountain of blankets and pillows. "Because the moment you said you'd been thinking I just knew you were going to make Joey an offer he couldn't possibly refuse."

 

"I know, right?" Chris grins as he kicks his pants to the side. "I mean, my nanny skills are legendary. Just ask Justin."

 

"Or me," Lance's voice rumbles.

 

Chris slips beneath the covers, and then sighs his appreciation at the comfortable warmth of Lance's body enveloping him. "Somehow I doubt that those are the legendary skills that are going to win Joey over," he murmurs, wrapping an arm around Lance.

 

"Probably not," Lance agrees easily. And then, after a moment of silence in which Chris can already feel himself slowly start to drift off, Lance asks, "Did you know he told Justin first?"

 

"Is that what's been bothering you?" Chris murmurs quietly, flattening the palm of his hand against Lance's stomach.

 

"It's just – "

 

"Because I think he told JC last. And since he asked you to tell me, _damn_," Chris sighs with mock grief as the tips of his fingers trace an invisible path across Lance's skin. "Should I be upset about that?"

 

Lance chuckles softly. "I'd definitely be upset if I found out that I clearly didn't rate at all," he says, almost unconsciously arching back into Chris's touch. "But no, it's just – " A soft sigh falls from his lips before he continues, "Back when Kelly was expecting Briahna. Remember that, remember that call after Joey told us – all of us? Together?"

 

"The conference call," Chris nods, smiling fondly as he remembers the display of completely synchronized incoherence that ensued after Joey made that first happy announcement over eight years ago.

 

"I miss that," Lance says softly.

 

His hand stills, and Chris swallows his immediate joking response about how he misses the nineties as well, and instead he simply tells Lance, "Me too."

 

"You think it's too late to get that back?"

 

"No," Chris says without hesitation, and not just because he has no doubt that what's missing isn't truly gone – it most likely isn't more than that one phone call away. His hand starts moving again, his fingers skimming over Lance's chest, as he tries to work out the various time zones. "Only a conference call away," he tells Lance, the words sounding very much like the promise he intends them to be. He presses his lips to Lance's hair.

 

Minutes pass in silence; Chris listens to their synchronized breathing and lets his eyes fall closed, happily surrendering to sleep when he thinks he hears Lance's deep voice murmur, "Maybe JC will write a song for the occasion – "

 

 

**end**


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